We gave a tour of SEAA and our collections to colleagues from the Newcomb Art Museum earlier this week. We spent quite a bit of time examining one of SEAA's artifacts--a hollowed out cypress log, which was part of early New Orleans' water system, dating to the late-18th to early-19th centuries. The bored log would have been connected by iron rings to other logs to create the city's first water main. With recent interest in the New Orleans waterworks...this artifact seems rather charming. The log measures 64.5" long x 13" diameter. Here is a link with a vintage advertisement from Southern Cypress Manufacturers Association about the cypress pipes--http://www.albanywoodworks.com/2014/02/06/ad-louisiana-cypress-1700s-city-water-pipes/
